


The Legend Of Korra - Lin And Kya’s Tale

by beifong_simp



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F, kyalin - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-12 07:46:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 10,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28881924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beifong_simp/pseuds/beifong_simp
Summary: Re-write of The Legend of Korra with more focus on Lin and Kya, as well as some changes such as making their relationship cannon. Some smut, easy to skip and not necessary to the story if you dont want to read it, mostly wholesome content. Will get very heart wrenching (major character death) in later chapters and will also probably be quite long.
Relationships: Lin Beifong/Kya II
Kudos: 43





	1. Chapter one - long time no see

Start of book one.

Tenzin and family are travelling to the south pole, where Korra has been training with Katara, along with the Chief of Police, Lin Beifong. They arrive and are greeted warmly by Katara and Kya, and hugs are exchanged between each family member as Lin stands awkwardly to the side. She crosses her arms and looks towards the village, when suddenly Kya throws her arms around her and squeezes her tightly.

"It's so good to see you Lin!" Kya exclaims, her arms still wrapped around Lin.

"Uh, you too Kya. You can stop hugging me now," Lin replies, starting to get uncomfortable having someone in such close proximity to her.

Kya drops her arms and steps back to look at her old friend, surprised to see her get flustered and turn red when their eyes meet. Just like when we were kids. Kya smirks, feeling smug with the knowledge that she still has that effect on Lin.

"We should catch up with the group," Lin says, looking away and intensely aware of the red colour of her cheeks.

"If you say so, Chief," Kya glances towards the village, only then realizing that everyone else had already gone on to see Korra.

Before Lin could start walking to meet the others, Kya grabs her hand and pulls herself in close to Lin's face. Lin's eyes open wide in shock, glancing to see if anyone could see them. Suddenly a sheet of snow lifts from the ground, creating a barrier between them and the village, and Kya closes the small gap between their lips. Lin kisses her back but quickly breaks it off, pushing the older woman away and gasping slightly.

"Kya, I- I can't- nobody can know I..."

"Shh I know, I know. Don't worry, I won't say anything, and I promise I won't slip up around them. Trust me, please?"

"I- " Lin sighs, "alright, I trust you. But don't you dare do something as reckless as that again."

"You liked it though, didn't you? Ha! You did, you're blushing again!" Kya punches Lin lightly, earning a scowl from the Chief.

"I didn't- oh just shut up. Come on, lets go," Kya watched as Lin briskly walked away to catch up with the group, starting to walk after her at a more leisurely pace. She couldn't help thinking how much she had missed Lin, and how badly she wished they could be together openly. They hadn't seen each other in years, and had lost touch entirely when Kya had gone on her travels around the world, but had been exchanging letters when Kya had moved in with her mother after Aang's death. It was at her father's funeral that Lin finally forgave Kya for leaving her without saying goodbye, something Kya still hadn't forgiven herself for. That was her biggest regret.

The rest of the day went by in a blur, with many stolen glances between the two women, and far too much longing without any reward. Kya and Lin both knew that Tenzin was planning on leaving the next day, leaving Korra behind to wait still longer to get her airbending training. Just before she was about to leave to go sleep for the night, Katara steps in front of Kya, putting her hand gently on her arm.

"Go," she says softly.

"What? Go where? What do you mean?" Kya asks her mother, confused by her out of the blue comment.

"Go back to republic city, with Tenzin. And Lin," Kya looked down at Katara, her eyes widening as she tried to remain nonchalant.

"B-but mom you need me here. I need to stay, to take care of you, and plus there's nothing- "

"I can take care of myself, Kya. I've seen the way you look at her, and she at you. You love her. Go."

"Mom I- "

"Go."

Kya looks back into the room where she sees Lin hiding in a corner, waiting for her to leave before leaving herself, and looks back at her mother. The determined look on Katara's face made Kya realize there was no negotiating anymore.

She sighs.

"Fine, I'll go. But promise me you won't say anything? She's not quite ready to be open about us yet."

Katara grabs Kya's hands, looking at her softly.

"Of course. Enjoy yourselves for me, would you? And write, but don't come back unless you absolutely must."

"I love you, mom," Kya says, bringing her in for a hug.

"I love you too."


	2. Chapter two - a vivid dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> short chapter, a dream of Lin’s that night
> 
> "You're beautiful, Lin."

Lin looked up into Kya's ice blue eyes. No matter how many times she saw her, she was always taken with her beauty. She felt Kya place her hand on her cheek and felt her heart speed up. Kya took in a breath and she couldn't take it anymore. She stood up on her tip toes to reach Kya's mouth and closed her eyes, her heart pounding in her ears when the kiss was returned. There was desperation radiating from both girls, Lin lifting her hands to tangle in Kya's hair and Kya dropping hers to Lin's waist. There was a crash in the hallway outside of Kya's room and they broke apart, terrified to get caught out. Lin was out of breath and felt herself turning red. She couldn't help staring at Kya, who happened to be staring right back.

"You're beautiful, Lin."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next part will be out in a shortly! I also do art and edits, you can find me on instagram at @heyyyadoraa or @beifong.simps.unite


	3. Chapter three - back to the city

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slight NSFW, easily skippable if you want but yea

Lin looks up at her ceiling, the morning light starting to seep into her room. She'd barely slept all night, her head filled with thoughts of Kya, with dread of having to leave her again. When she had fallen asleep, even her dreams were filled with the gorgeous waterbender.

Hearing a knock at her door, she forces herself to get out of bed to face the day. If refusing to show any emotion was the only way for her to get through the day, so be it. Walking over to the door in her night garments, there was nothing that could have prepared her for what was on the other side.

"Surprise! I'm coming back to republic city with you!" Kya's face lit up with the brightest smile with her excitement.

"What? But what about your mother? And where will you stay? We cant- "

"You don't need to worry about any of that. I'm staying at air temple island with Tenzin, and my mother will be fine. She was the one who insisted I come. I thought the same thing as you, but she wasn't going to budge. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you myself, I have to go pack now, but I'm excited to get to see you more. Tenzin says we're leaving in an hour." Kya smiles and leaves Lin standing in the doorway, unsure how to feel. On the one hand, the woman she loves is moving to the same city as her, but on the other, the risk of people finding out about them increases by so, so much. What if people were to find out and try to hurt Kya? Tenzin says we're leaving in an hour. I need to get dressed.

Lin had always been very practical, so getting dressed only takes her about five minutes. She bends her metal armour on over her white tank top and ties her hair up into her usual bun.

She looks at herself in the small mirror and raises her hand to her scar, where Kya's hand rested just the day before. I'll go see if Kya needs help with her packing, I've got the time so why not.

The walk to Kya's place is short but freezing, but then again it is the south pole. On her way, Ikki greets her, airbending her baggage to a waiting Oogi.

"Hi Chief! Where are you headed?"

"I was just going to see if your aunt Kya needed any help with, uh, carrying her bags to Oogi. You go on and get yourself ready, don't worry about us," She gives a tiny smile at Ikki and she runs away with her bags floating after her.

She gets to the door of Kya's and raises her hand to knock, but hesitates. What if someone suspects something? She glances around and doesn't see anyone, but decides still not to knock. Instead she simply opens the door and walks in.

"Kya? You here?"

She jumps at the voice she hears reply.

"Lin? What are you doing here?" Tenzin asks, equally as startled as Lin.

"I was just coming to see if your sister needed any help with her bags. But I see she's already got all the help she needs," she scowls at him, only to be surprised once again when Kya comes out of her bathroom.

"Lin! Oh great, I was hoping you'd come, I've got so many bags there's no way the two of us could have carried them alone," Kya looks at Lin, positively glowing, and she can't say no. She grumbles and picks up two of the biggest, heaviest bags, both to show off to Kya and to humiliate Tenzin.

"Lin, are you sure you can carry those all the way to Oogie? I can take one of them and give you a lighter one if- "

"Shut it, twinkletoes junior. I've got more muscle than you could dream of having, I'm fine," Kya snickers at Lin's nickname for her brother, enjoying Lin's showing off very much.

The three make their way to Oogie with Kya's bags, loading him up and getting ready to say goodbye to everyone before their departure.

"What's going on? Are you leaving? You can't leave! You're supposed to teach me airbending! What about my training?" Korra runs over to the gathering around Oogie, visibly upset.

"I'm sorry Korra, I have important business to attend to in Republic City, and I'll be back soon enough. You'll just have to keep working on your other elements while you wait," Tenzin replies, guilt showing on his face.

Lin scoffed, enjoying as the argument continued, mostly consisting of Korra berating Tenzin. She had consistently enjoyed Tenzin's embarrassment since their breakup, as she felt like each time was a little bit of payback. Although when she thought about it, what she did to air temple island was probably enough payback... It's still fun for her to watch.

"You enjoy torturing him too much Lin. But, to be fair, so do I," Kya says, taking mutual amusement from the argument. She smirks as her brother gets more and more visibly uncomfortable. Finally, Korra relents her beratement of Tenzin, and everyone gets up on Oogie to leave. Katara, Korra, and a few others gather below, waving goodbye as they're lifted up into the air on the back of the massive sky bison. The trip goes relatively quickly to Lin, but her head is spinning the whole time, both from her distance from any bendable earth, and from Kya seated so closely beside her. When they land on air temple island, Lin and Tenzin are both put to work carrying Kya's bags, Tenzin trying to take one of the ones Lin carried earlier again, and crying out in pain at how heavy it is.

"I told you twinkletoes, I've got it. You might want to work out more, I'm not always going to be around to carry everything for you, especially since your replacement of me," Lin remarks, harshly bringing up his cheating on her once again, as per usual.

"Lin..."

"I really don't care, do what you want, I'm going to get these bags to Kya's room. Feel free to keep dawdling like the toddler you are or come with me if you want to be a big boy," She goes inside the temple and keeps a fast pace, making sure he wont catch up to her.

Kya's already in her room when she gets there, and Tenzin gets there a moment later, panting slightly.

"I'm going to use the bathroom quickly if that's alright Kya?" Lin asks, wanting to be with Kya alone for a few minutes but not wanting to give Tenzin any ideas.

"Of course, Lin! I'll just be here unpacking," Kya replies, realizing what Lin's trying to accomplish. "Hey airhead, don't you have three kids to take care of? I'm perfectly capable of unpacking for myself, and I can show the Chief out once she's ready."

"Oh, uh, of course, I'll leave you to do just that," Tenzin replied, when there was a crash and a shrill laugh- that may have also been a scream- came from the floor below. "And yes, those would be my three children, and probably some broken furniture that I should go deal with."

He left, closing the door behind him. Almost as soon as he was gone, Lin came out of the bathroom and sat on the bed with Kya.

"Tonight. Tell them you're going to explore the city or some other bull, I don't care. I want you to come over. I- "

"I'll be there." Kya quiets Lin's rambling with a shockingly fast agreement, and quickly leans over and kisses the Chief before she can protest. She returns the kiss for a moment, then breaks away.

"Tonight," She gives Kya a small smile, then offers her a hand to help the taller woman up. "Walk me out?"

"Always," Kya smiles, taking Lin's hand for the brief moment before they leave her room. She feels herself already excited for what she can only imagine Lin intends for later that night.

________________________________________________________________________________

Mature content warning - feel free to skip

________________________________________________________________________________

Kya arrives at Lin's building just after it gets dark, something she thinks Lin will appreciate for secrecy's sake. When she gets there, she sees Lin waiting for her just inside the apartment building's door. She buzzes her in, and once inside Lin immediately grabs her hand and starts pulling her towards the elevator. The ride up is short and fast, and before Kya knows it they're in Lin's apartment. Lin locks the door and turns to Kya, pushing her against a wall and kissing her with desperation. Kya breaks the kiss, looking down at Lin with mischief in her eyes and a smirk on her face.

"That armour can't possibly be comfortable, Chief, why don't you slip into something a little less restrictive?" Lin raises an eyebrow at the taller woman, grabbing her hand again and pulling her to the bedroom.

She bends off her metal armour, revealing her white tank top and cargo pants underneath. Kya can't help but trace her eyes over where the tank top covers Lin's abs, desperate to see more of her. She sees Lin eyeing her back, and shrugs out of her dress into her much more revealing undergarments. This earns a true smile from the hardened Chief of Police, who never gives much more than a smirk to anyone.

Kya closes the distance between them, slipping her hands under Lin's tank top and pulling it over her head. In the same, smooth motion, she somehow manages to also undo Lin's hair, watching happily as it falls down over her back. Lin responds by reaching up and pulling Kya's ponytail out and kissing her again. Kya moves her hands down Lin's front, tracing her abs lightly and pushing her down onto the soft bed. She then sits over her, with one leg on either side of Lin's hips, looking down at her beautiful face and toned muscles.

Lin feels herself starting to ache with need, and lets a tiny moan escape her lips when Kya pushes herself down again.

"Ooh, is my little Lin getting desperate?" Kya teases with a little laugh.

Lin growls at her, watching with pleasure as Kya's face betrays just how needy she's feeling as well. The older woman climbs off of Lin, slipping her fingers under the waistband of her pants and slowly pulling them down. Lin gasps quietly when Kya pulls off her boxers, and groans dangerously as Kya's hands stroke the insides of her thighs.

"Is there something you want, darling?" Kya asks innocently.

"Kya- " she feels a hand caress her stomach again, sliding further down than before, and lets out another moan. "Please, Kya- "

Her voice is barely a whisper, but it's enough for Kya to be convinced. She brings her hand down and starts fingering her, the younger woman's body immediately responding to her touch.

Lin's moans start relatively quiet, but as Kya continues to speed up they get louder and more frequent, until Lin's back arches and she cries out-

"-Kya!"

Kya finishes her and pulls out, satisfied in hearing her name called so freely by Lin, and watches her struggle to catch her breath. She licks her fingers clean, taking great pleasure in every bit of being with Lin that she can. She stands up, about to go to the bathroom to wash up, when she feels a firm grip around her wrist. Lin pulls her down to the bed, taking her place and sitting on top of Kya. She grabs Kya's wrists and metalbends cuffs to keep them bound to the headboard.

"Who's desperate now?" She taunts, feeling Kya pushing up against her to get any friction at all.

"God damnit Lin don't- " She gasps as Lin strokes her face and neck, stopping to undo her bra. "Don't use my own strategies against me- "

"Oh but Kya, darling, it's so very fun to..."

Lin kisses Kya, leaving a trail of heat from each kiss all the way down Kya's neck and chest. Kya closes her eyes, letting Lin take complete control of her body.

"Fuck, Lin, just do it alr- " She moans loudly when Lin cuts off her sentance by putting her first three fingers into Kya.

Instead of finishing her right away, Lin immediately takes all three fingers out.

"Beg," She commands Kya.

"Please Lin please just fuck me please I'm begging you just- " Kya whispers, again getting cut off my Lin's manipulation. This time she doesn't hold back, going faster and faster until Kya lets out a final cry and collapses, breathless. Lin licks her fingers clean as Kya did before, bends the metal clasps from around her wrists, and climbs on top of her, resting her head on Kya's shoulder.

"That was fun. We should do that more often," she said softly, taking Kya a bit by surprise in her forwardness.

"I would never say no," Kya replied, before they both started to drift off to sleep.


	4. Chapter four - waking up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> good morning :)

The sun in her face is what wakes Kya up the following morning. She sits up in a bed that isn't hers, and suddenly remembers last night's events. Looking around the room, she notices that Lin's armour and undergarments are gone, meaning she's probably already at work.

"Ugh, what time is it?" She groans to herself, getting out of Lin's bed and stretching. She notices how sore she is and laughs. "It's really been a while since I've gone all out, huh."

As she's starting to get dressed in her clothes from the day before, a smell wafts into the room. Kya's stomach rumbles, and she follows her nose to whatever wonderful thing is calling her. She walks into Lin's tiny kitchen, not quite knowing what to expect, but is pleasantly surprised to see Lin in her undergarments cooking eggs for the two of them.

"Good morning! I was going to head off to work early, but I couldn't help but think you'd be hungry when you woke up, so I decided to make us some eggs! There's bread in the fridge if you'd like some toast too, and- " Kya wraps her arms around Lin's waist, nuzzling her face into the crook of her neck.

"I love you, Chief," she says lazily.

"I love you too, idiot," Lin replies, happy in that moment with the woman of her dreams. The bliss only lasts a moment though, the ringing of Lin's landline interrupting it harshly.

"I'd better answer that," Lin says, already irritated with whoever's on the other end. "Can you finish cooking the eggs for me?"

Kya nods and takes Lin's place in front of the stove as she rushes over to pick up the phone.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Lin's tone is harsh and unforgiving, and Kya can't stop herself from giggling at the thought that it's because Lin would rather be spending time with her. 

"What?? Not again... Alright, I'm on my way. Just keep them from hurting anyone until I get there, I'll deal with rounding them up."

"Who was that?" Kya asks, confused by Lin's sudden rush to get out the door.

"It was Mako, apparently the Triple Threat Triad is back at it again, and has several civilians in their custody. I've got to go get them out of there, and I'll probably just go straight to work afterwards. I'm sorry this ruined our morning... I'll see you later, alright, Kya?"

"Of course. And thanks for the eggs." Kya leans down and gives Lin one last kiss before she hurries out the door, smiling as she goes even though she is feeling quite sad that their wonderful morning had to be cut off so abruptly. She spends the rest of the morning puttering around Lin's apartment, tidying the bedroom and cleaning up the kitchen. By noon, she realizes she should probably go make sure her airhead little brother doesn't think she's dead.


	5. Chapter five - family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Kya! Where the hell have you been?!" Tenzin all but yells when she opens the door. "We've been looking for you everywhere, and with the Triple Threat Triad at it again, I thought you could've- "
> 
> its fun to embarrass tenzin dont ya think

"Kya! Where the hell have you been?!" Tenzin all but yells when she opens the door. "We've been looking for you everywhere, and with the Triple Threat Triad at it again, I thought you could've- "

"Woah there, Tenzy, calm your tits! I'm a grown-ass woman, I can survive a night on my own. And besides, sometimes I like to eat breakfast with the girls I fuck," Kya watches as her brother tries to come up with an adequate response, only getting more and more flustered the harder he tries. He's lucky that Pema walks in at just the right moment, immediately picking up his end of the conversation where he failed to.

"So, a night on the town, huh? Who was the lucky girl this time?"

Kya feels her face heat up a little, but comes up with an easy lie without hesitating.

"Oh, you know, just another lonely girl I picked up at a bar, although I'm thinking maybe I'll keep this one around for more than just the one night. Maybe I'll even bring her around here at some point," Tenzin's face twists in annoyance at her attitude at the entire situation, and she smirks at him. Only then does she notice how quiet the temple is.

"Where are the kids? Aren't they usually running around and terrorizing the house plants this time of day?" Kya asks, suddenly wanting to spend some time with her nieces and nephew.

"They're at the beach with Bumi," Pema responds, glancing over her shoulder.

Kya's eyebrows shoot up. "When did Bumi get here?" She looks at Tenzin for an answer. He sighs and looks back at her, his only real response, "Maybe you'd like to go say hello to him... and make sure my kids are still alive?"

Kya laughs at his remark, admitting to herself that although Bumi's the oldest, it wasn't unfair of Tenzin to worry. She runs upstairs, changing into her beach outfit and hurrying on her way to see her family.


	6. Chapter six - arrival of the avatar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I changed my writing style to past tense, sorry if that's confusing. If I change it again it'll only be to first person, I'm gonna stick with past tense though. this chapter is basically just Lin being annoyed and overworked

Lin looked in her rear view mirror as she sped to where the Triple Threat Triad were holding a few innocent civilians, making sure her backups were still on her trail. As she got close, she could see that several vehicles were on fire, but all of the civilians had been rounded up. She felt her face heat up. Hadn't she told Mako to wait until she was there to deal with it? She made a mental note to make sure he wouldn't step out of line again. And to think she had to leave Kya for this.

She pulled up at the scene and was about to start yelling when she saw a face that she really didn't want to.

"What the flameo are you doing here??" She barked at the avatar, who they had only left days before in the South Pole.

"Oh, h-hey Lin," Korra replied with a crooked smile.

"Was this your doing?" Lin asked, gesturing to the vehicles on fire, also noticing a few knocked over stalls and broken shop windows. when Korra looked away without responding, she gave up trying to be civil.

"Alright, you're coming back to the station with me, Mako can you handle things here?" She said, dragging the avatar into her car.

"Yes, Chief," Mako replied just before she drove on back to the station with Korra in tow.

"I'm sorry, I just saw all those people and- " Korra tried to reason with no success.

"Save it, kid," Lin snapped at her, shutting her up for the rest of the short ride.

When they got to the station, Lin wasted no time putting Korra under arrest and bringing her to a questioning room.

"Let's see. Multiple counts of destruction of private and city property, not to mention evading an arrest, you're in a whole mess of trouble young lady," She said, slamming the papers onto the desk.

"But there were those guys holding all those people and I- "

"Can it. You should've seen that the police were on their way, some already there, and stayed out of the way."

"But I couldn't just sit by and do nothing, it's my duty to help people! I mean I am the avatar after all," Korra tried to rebuttal to no avail.

"Yeah, yeah, I am well aware of who you are, and your avatar title might impress some people, but not me."

"Alright, fine, then I wanna talk to whoever's in charge."

"You're talking to her. You met me as Lin before, but I'm Chief Beifong." Lin pulled out the chair across from Korra, sitting down to face her.

"Wait, Beifong? You're Toph's daughter!"

"What of it?" She asked, growing more annoyed by the second.

"Well then why are you treating me like a criminal? Avatar Aang and your mother were friends! They saved the world together!"

"That's ancient history. And it's got diddly-squat to do with the mess you're in right now! You can't just waltz in here and dole out vigilante justice like you own the place!" Lin was holding back her irritation towards the young avatar, but was very tempted to throw her in a cell and leave her there.

"Chief, Councilman Tenzin is here," an officer interrupted them to Korra's relief. Lin sighed and got up.

"Let him in," she groaned.

"Tenzin, I'm sorry I- I got a little side tracked on my way to see you," Korra said hesitantly. Tenzin took a deep breath, clearly holding back as much annoyance as Lin was. Instead of addressing Korra though, he turned to Lin.

"Lin, you are looking radiant as usual!" He said with a smile, clearly trying to weasel his way through Lin to get Korra out of the arrest.

"Cut the garbage, Tenzin. Why is the avatar in republic city? I thought you were supposed to be moving down to the south pole to train her."

"My relocation has been delayed. The avatar, on the other hand, will be heading back to the south pole immediately, where she will stay put."

"But-" Korra said in protest.

"If you would be so kind as to drop the charges against Korra, I will take full responsibility for today's regrettable events, and cover all the damages," Tenzin cut her off, shooting her a glare while speaking. Lin sighed again.

"Fine, get her out of my city," She hissed, although she was really just glad to have some time to herself finally.

"Always a pleasure, Lin. Let's go Korra," Tenzin said before the two headed for the door. On their way out, Lin gestured that she'd be keeping her eyes on Korra, who responded by mocking her. The Chief stared after her in confusion for a moment, before shrugging it off and going to sit down. It was just getting to be early afternoon, and she was already exhausted.

Since there were no other emergencies in the city, she remained at her desk doing paperwork until late that evening when her phone rang.

"Hello?" She asked, hoping she wasn't needed anywhere considering how tired she was.

"Lin, why are you still at work? Come back to your apartment, I miss you!" Kya said from the other end. Lin had completely forgotten to ask if Kya wanted to stay longer at her place or go back to Air Temple island, but it seemed Kya had made that decision anyways.

"Sorry, there's just been... a lot of paperwork. I'll come back at some point," She was about to hang up and get back to filling out forms and answering to complaints when Kya spoke up again.

"You sound so tired, please just come back. I can give you a massage, perhaps even use some healing water to make you feel better?" She couldn't deny how good that sounded and glanced at the piles of paper on her desk. They could wait for tomorrow, right?

"Fine, fine, I'm coming," She grumbled, hanging up the phone and grabbing her few things to leave. She was always the last one at the station, so she locked everything up and got in her car, driving back to her apartment as quickly as was legal. She was a cop, after all.

She got her massage as promised, and had to admit to Kya that her healing really did help her sore muscles. They spent the remainder of the night quietly drinking tea and reading together, eventually both drifting off to sleep peacefully in Lin's bed. Just before falling asleep, Lin made a mental note to make Kya swear to never tell anyone that Lin was a little spoon.


	7. Chapter seven - staying in the city

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There were cheers as the three of them walked out, Korra taking her place at the podium. Quite a crowd had shown up, cameras flashing and radio shows no doubt broadcasting it all. Korra took a deep breath and cleared her throat before speaking.  
> “Hello? I’m Korra,” She inhaled deeply again. “Your new avatar,”

The next morning, Lin woke up with the sun. She left Kya in bed, hoping she’d get at least a couple hours more sleep, and got ready for work as quietly as she could. She had a bad feeling about today, but was hoping it was just leftover moodiness from yesterday’s fiasco. The avatar would be out of the city by now, and she’d have peace and quiet with the usual crimes again.  
Her bad feeling worsened when she walked into the station to see Tenzin and Korra standing together, talking to one of her officers.  
“Ahem,” She cleared her throat to get their attention. “What in the name of Raava is she still doing here?” She asked, gesturing at Korra while staring daggers at Tenzin. He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck, looking down at her nervously.  
“Well, you see, I may have offered to train her here, as I wouldn’t have been able to get out of republic city for a while, and her presence might even help, and- ” Lin let out a groan.  
“We agreed, out of my city. She’d better be staying on the island with you, and she’s not allowed to come into the city until her training is complete, if she stays at all. Understood?” Korra nodded ferociously and Tenzin thanked and apologized to Lin excessively as she stomped past them through the doors and into her office.

By a few hours later, an announcement had been made that the avatar would be staying on air temple island, and would speak to reporters outside the station at midday. Lin and Tenzin would both be expected to be there with her, and the only part of it that LIn was looking forward to was the possibility that some crook reporter would try something. She secretly hoped someone did, just so that she could slam something with earth and not commit a crime against her own laws.

There were cheers as the three of them walked out, Korra taking her place at the podium. Quite a crowd had shown up, cameras flashing and radio shows no doubt broadcasting it all. Korra took a deep breath and cleared her throat before speaking.  
“Hello? I’m Korra,” She inhaled deeply again. “Your new avatar,” Barely a sentence was spoken before the reporters started bombarding her with questions. She made the smart move to answer only the few that she had heard clearly.  
“Uh, yes I am definitely here to stay, but honestly, I- ” she hesitated for a moment before smiling crookedly and continuing. “I don’t exactly have a plan, yet. See, I’m still in training.” The crowd grew relatively quiet, seemingly upping the avatar’s nerves.  
“Look, all I know is, Avatar Aang meant for this city to be the centre of peace and balance in the world, and I believe we can make his dream a reality. I look forward to serving you! I’m so happy to be here, thank you Republic City!” she smiled and waved at the crowd.  
“Alright, that’s all the questions we have time for,” Tenzin said into the mic as reporters began yelling questions at her again.  
The three of them headed back inside of the station, letting out a collective breath of relief that it was over.  
“So… what now?” Korra asked, looking at her two elders.  
“What now is that you and Tenzin scurry back to your little island so I can do my work and not have to mother the two of you all day,” Lin said commandingly.   
Tenzin nodded in agreement, allowing Lin to relax a little bit knowing she wouldn’t have to fight him on this.  
“Lin’s right, we should go back to the island, if you want to be finished with your training as soon as possible. We can even start today if you’re up for it and we get back in time,” He glanced at the door, knowing full well that the trip back to the island wasn’t nearly long enough to bring the day to a close before their arrival, but hoping to get out from under Lin’s harsh gaze sooner rather than later.  
“Great! Let’s go then!” Korra’s eyes lit up at the suggestion of starting her training that day.  
They left no more than ten minutes later, leaving Lin to resume her usual paperwork routine, one which she was behind on compared to most other weeks after Kya had bribed her home early last night. She let out a sigh, getting to it right away.

A few days went by with no word from air temple island to Lin’s delight. No avatar in her city, no more annoying press conferences with the media, and best of all, nobody messing with her law and order.  
The Tigerdillos and the Fireferrets were facing off in the pro-bending arena that night. Lin didn’t particularly enjoy the sport, but Kya had begged her to come, and she could hardly say no to her. She spent the entire game completely zoned out, ignoring the game until the last moment when Mako somehow came back from being the only one left against a full team, to winning the game. She knew he was a good bender, and was quite effective on her force, but she had to admit his feat was impressive.The match ended in celebration from Fireferret fans, and the night came to a close. 

She was surprised that there still hadn’t been any trouble with the obnoxious young avatar yet. It was a great disappointment the next night when Kya dragged her to the arena again, only for Korra to be the replacement waterbender for the Fireferret.   
“Raava, she’s awful at this,” Kya remarked, watching her get knocked out of the arena immediately after getting fouled twice.  
“Uh huh,” Lin responded, watching intently for once. She was both irritated to see Korra where Tenzin swore she wouldn’t be, and excited to see how the match would turn out.  
By the last round, Korra improved greatly out of nowhere, somehow leading the Fireferrets to victory.  
“Well, would you look at that? She did it,” Lin said to Kya, her eyebrows raised in surprise.  
“Maybe you ought to give her at least a little more credit, Chief,” Kya laughed, elbowing her.  
Lin scoffed and brushed her off, still set on her general irritation at the avatar.   
They left the arena separately, so as not to be suspicious, but Kya was waiting in Lin’s car by the time she got there. They drove back to Lin’s apartment together and spent the night happily together.


	8. Chapter eight - show a little more backbone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenzin’s a wuss, Lin’s a badass, Kya enjoys making fun of her little brother too much and therefore only encourages Lin.

As the week wore on, trouble started brewing in the city again. The Chief was getting daily reports of more trouble with all the major triads in Republic City, and it seemed to her as if something big was sure to go down soon. It wasn’t until Korra got into trouble with Amon and the Equalists that she had any leads as to what. When she heard what Korra claimed to have witnessed, she didn’t believe her at first. The ability to take a person's bending permanently… that was something only the avatar had ever possessed. But when Lightning Bolt Zolt and his fellow triad members were brought in, shells of themselves without their signature bending abilities, she was forced to believe every word Korra uttered regarding that night. She wouldn’t admit to anyone, not even Kya, how terrified she felt.  
Amon’s message over the radio came on when Kya and Lin were in Lin’s apartment together, relaxing on a quiet, peaceful night. Though Lin still hadn’t voiced her growing concern and fear regarding the situation at large, but Kya wrapped her arms around the younger woman when his voice interrupted the regular radio programming. In all the years the two had known one another, she had never seen the Chief look so scared.  
“The time has come for benders to live in fear,” his message ended, the music resuming once again. Lin let Kya hold her, deciding that if there was ever a time to let herself not be the tough one, it was now.

The Gala was far too extravagant for Lin’s taste, but at least it was a distraction. She and Kya stuck to the corners of the room, though at one point Lin was unfortunately flagged by Tarrlok on her way to get drinks.   
“Chief Beifong! I believe you and avatar Korra have, uh, already met?” He questioned her, so she decided to express her irritation at the entire situation by calling out Korra and the uselessness of the party.  
“Just because the City’s throwing you this big to-do, don't think you’re something special. You’ve done absolutely nothing to deserve this,” She turned and walked away with a scowl stuck on her face.  
The night went on, Lin and Kya remaining in the shadows once again. Suddenly, Korra was put on the spot by Tarrlok, and was pressured into joining his task force by media reporters. Lin sighed and shook her head, remembering Tarrlok’s past ploys to gain power, and getting the feeling this would end much the same way.

When Korra’s encounter with Amon ended ominously but without a true showdown, Lin knew there was to be another, much more serious showdown in the near future. There were no excuses and definitely no escapes from the Equalist movement, especially not for the Chief of Police. There were near constant reports coming from all around the city, people everywhere terrified of Amon and his followers. Most of the reports were either nothing or very minor crimes, and none of them required the chief to be there, but Lin found it at least more interesting and distracting than endless paperwork.

With Kya’s constant insistence on going to every pro bending match, Lin was starting to actually enjoy watching the sport. They continued to attend all arena games, though Lin was forced to miss a few because of work. There were a few games in the quarter finals during which the Fireferrets seemed to be slipping up, particularly between Korra and Mako, though they took a turn for the better. By the time the championship had rolled around, Korra and her teammates had improved significantly, and it seemed to most that they might actually have a chance at winning.  
Amon’s second radio takeover shook the entire city. He called on the city council to cancel the pro bending finals, an action that would essentially give Amon power over the whole of republic city.  
“Tenzin’s never gonna stand up against Amon, is he,” Lin grumbled to Kya the morning of the council meeting.  
“Not unless the spirits possessed him to do so,” She responded, and noticing how agitated that made the younger woman, adding, “you need to show up, I know you're not on the council, but if what they need is a badass lady like you breaking in and yelling at them to do something, then you totally should. Also, I’d pay to see the look on Tenzin’s face when you barge in there.”  
Lin chuckled at Kya’s remarks, but considered her idea. If breaking in was what it took to get some real action taken against Amon, then so be it.

Funnily enough, when she got there, it seemed that Korra had had the exact same idea.  
“This meeting is adjourned,” were the words that came out of Tarrlok’s mouth as she entered the room.  
Not if I can help it, she thought to herself, bending a cable across the room to break his gavel before it could meet the block below it. Tarrlok gasped slightly, and all eyes turned to Lin.  
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree with the Avatar,” she said matter-of-factly.  
“You… do,” Tarrlok queried.  
“Yeah, you do?” The young avatar expressed, as surprised by the development as all others in the room.  
“I expected this kind of cut-and-run response from Tenzin, but the rest of you? Come on, show a little more backbone! It’s time that the benders of this city displayed some strength and unity against these Equalists,” She responded.  
“We must prevent the conflict between benders and non-benders from escalating into all out war!” Her ex waved his arm through the air as if to cut the subject like a rope. “The council is not changing it’s position, Lin.”  
“Now just a moment, Tenzin. Let us hear what our esteemed Chief of Police has in mind,” Tarrlok purred. Tenzin grumpily crossed his arms but allowed Lin to propose her plan.  
“If you keep the arena open, my metalbenders and I will provide extra security during the championship match. There’s no better force to deal with their chi blockers, our armour is impervious to their attacks.”  
“Are you saying that you will… personally take responsibility for the safety of the spectators in the arena?” Tarrlok challenged.  
“I guarantee it,” She met his eyes with a fierce look of her own.  
“It is hard to argue with Chief Beifong’s track record… if she is confident her elite officers can protect the arena, then she had my support. I am changing my vote! Who else is with me?” Tarrlok raised his hand, followed by all other council members aside from Tenzin.  
“The arena stays open,” He finished, giving Korra and her teammates a quick “Good luck in the finals,” before smirking at the Chief. “And, good luck to you, Chief Beifong.”  
Tenzin shook his head, walking out of the room.  
“A word please, Lin,” he said in a low voice as he passed her. She followed him to the hallway just outside the hall.

“Tarrlok’s playing you, and I don’t want to see you get hurt,” Tenzin started.  
“I know what I’m doing, and the risks that come with it,” She quipped.  
“In that case, I’m going to be by your side at the match,”  
“You don’t need to babysit me,” Lin all but growled.  
“It’s for Korra. I want to make sure she’s safe,” He defended himself.  
“Do what you want, it’s not like I’ve ever been able to stop you before,” Lin threw her hands in the air in frustration.  
“Excuse me, Chief Beifong? I wanted to thank you for your help. It… really… means a lot… ” Korra trailed off as Lin kept walking away, paying her no attention whatsoever.  
Lin sighed as she got in her car and drove back to the station, dedicating the rest of her day to writing out plans and organizing her officers for the finals. She knew how huge an undertaking this was, but was determined to prove herself, partially just to spite Tenzin, but also to get Amon’s threat out of the city once and for all.


	9. Chapter nine - Amon

“All clear Chief!” One of her senior officers shouted up to her, waving his arm to signal the completion of the security search. She motioned back to him to move on to the next area as Tenzin snuck up on her.  
“How is the security sweep going?” He asked.  
“Fine,”  
“They’ve checked underneath the stands?”  
“Yes,”  
“And you have enough officers to cover all points of entry?”  
“I have the skies, the bay, and every nook and cranny of this place covered,” She turned to him in annoyance. “Now leave me alone and let me do my job,” she finished, looking back to the arena.  
“Lin,” Tenzin took a step forward. “With so much on the line it would be nice if we could… help each other out. At least for one night.”  
She couldn’t help but soften at the idea, and she turned to look at him again.  
“Like old times?” She asked.  
“Like old times,” He responded, the two of them sharing a brief smile.  
“Okay,” She agreed, a little hesitantly. “I’ll try to be less... abrasive, than usual.”  
“I’d appreciate that,” He reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, but she shook him off with a glare.  
“Don’t push it, airhead,” she said, earning a chuckle out of both of them. “I probably won’t get a break from the security management before the match, and I haven't eaten since this morning,” She glanced back at Tenzin again. “Would you mind scrounging up something edible while I stay here?”  
Tenzin nodded and left her side to find them both something to eat. It would no doubt be a long night, and they’d need all the stamina they could get for just in case something went down.

As the security check wore on, her officers rummaging through every possible space in the arena, a pit started to grow in Lin’s stomach. She knew that the fact that they had found no evidence of Amon’s henchmen in the entirety of the arena pointed towards the conclusion that none of the Equalists would be attacking tonight, but it didn’t feel right to her. There was no way an attack from the outside would be successful, she had made sure of that. And it seemed like no plans had been made for an attack from within, but she couldn’t shake the bad feeling she had.  
She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt strong arms wrap around her waist and a head rest on her shoulder.  
“Kya! What are you doing here, I thought I told you to stay home tonight, I can’t have you getting hurt,” Lin said in a low voice, not wanting to alert her officers of the gorgeous woman standing behind her.  
Kya took Lin’s hand and turned her around so they were standing facing one another, fingers interlaced between them.  
“I know how stressed this whole mess has made you, spirits, you were so focussed on arena security you didn’t even feel me come up behind you. You need to let your mind rest, just talk to me for a while. Your officers are plenty capable of handling themselves for a few minutes,” Kya put a hand on Lin’s cheek, stroking her thumb over her scars and tilting the shorter woman’s head to meet her eyes.  
Lin let out a breath she didn’t realise she’d been holding, and pulled Kya to one of the nearby benches.  
“Kya, I love you, but you can’t always take care of me. I’ll be alright, I promise. But you’re right, I am feeling… uneasy. The sweep has gone perfectly, and there have been no attempts by any Equalist affiliates to make threats of any kind. It doesn’t feel right,” Lin held Kya’s hands between her own as the two sat together.  
“That is a bit odd…” Kya looked her girlfriend in the eyes, trying to ease her mind. “Try not to worry about it too much. You need to be present, and worrying about what could happen will make that impossible. Just… try to stay in the moment, and let whatever happens happen. You are more than prepared for any kind of attack that could happen, you’ll be alright,” Kya leaned in to kiss Lin on her unscarred cheek.  
“Thank you. It would be much easier to let my mind rest if you were home, where I know you’d be safe, though,” Lin finally looked up from her feet to meet Kya’s gaze.  
“If it would make you feel better, I’ll go home. I love you,” The waterbender said before standing up to leave.  
“I love you too,” The chief mumbled as Kya walked away. She could hardly wait for the night to be over.

The match started not too long after Kya left and the sweep had finished. Tenzin returned, apparently having forgotten the food he was sent to collect, and joined Lin at her watch station. The two stood in silence watching the game until the Wolfbats pulled several fouls that were left uncalled.  
“Oh come on refs!” Tenzin said angrily, slapping his hands together in frustration. “There was some funny business in that last play!” Lin raised an eyebrow at him.  
“Wouldn’t have guessed you knew the rules of pro-bending,” She remarked.  
He grunted in response, crossing his arms.  
“I’ve been… brushing up,” he said nonchalantly, before adding, “That Wolfbat blatantly bent a disk outside of his zone.”  
The match continues, and the Wolfbats continue using illegal moves without being called out. Eventually round two came to a tie-breaker, Korra stepping forward to face off with Tahno. The face off barely lasted five seconds, Korra taking advantage of Tahno’s cocky attitude to get the upper hand and knock him out. Lin broke the silence again as round three started.  
“I can’t believe your sweet-tempered father was reincarnated into that girl. She’s tough as nails,” She said, not wanting to admit just how impressed she was with Korra.  
“Reminds me of someone else I knew at that age. you two might get along, if you would only give her a chance,” Tenzin looked down at Lin.  
“Hmph,” She avoided his gaze, instead turning her attention back to the game. She had been warming up to the idea, but Tenzin telling her to give the young avatar a chance made her want to hold her grudge even more just to spite him.  
The two fell back into their silence as the game continued. Lin thought back to what Kya had said earlier, but found it difficult to quiet her racing thoughts and paranoias. She knew she seemed calm to all those around her, including Tenzin who believed he knew her so well. Kya and Toph were the only two people who could tell what Lin was truly feeling at any given moment, and neither was anywhere nearby.  
Lin frowned as Tenzin burst out in anger at the refs again.  
“Oh come on! Those were illegal headshots! Open your eyes ref!” he exclaimed.  
Lin let out a sigh. “You’re almost as bad as your sister,” She mumbled, not loud enough for him to hear.  
Tahno and his teammates started to gloat in the middle of the ring as the championship was handed to them for the fourth year in a row. Lin couldn’t help but glance around as her heart started to race again. Something was off, she just couldn’t place it. Nothing was visibly wrong, but there were so many fans in the arena, if even just a few of them were Equalists…  
She started to look back at Tenzin, before his shout interrupted her thoughts.  
“Look out!” He yelled at almost the exact same second she felt her muscles tense painfully.  
She clenched her teeth as the lightning coursed through her body, making every muscle spasm uncontrollably. She fell to the ground, Tenzin following her down only seconds later, much in the same state.  
No, no, no… her mind panicked as she fell, just before her vision turned black and her head hit the ground.

“...For centuries, benders have possessed an unnatural advantage over ordinary people. But thankfully, modern technology has provided us with a way to even out the playing field. Now anyone can hold the power of a chi blocker in their hand.” Lin shook her head, clearing the momentary fog from being knocked out. She pushed herself off the ground, in complete disbelief of the words coming from Amons mouth.  
“My followers and I will not rest until the entire city achieves equality. And once that goal is achieved, we will equalize the rest of the world! The revolution has begun!” Lin held a hand out for Tenzin, helping him up. She glanced back at the middle of the arena where Amon now stood with his fist in the air.  
The crowd stayed silent until there was a sudden crash, and six large cables broke through the roof of the arena. They lowered to where Amon and a few chi blockers stood, the group calmly stepping onto them before starting to be raised back up. Lin could see audience members also exiting the arena, in a much less panicked state than she would have expected.  
They must be Equalists, too, she thought to herself. She took another look around and noticed many of her officers just standing up, also groggy from being knocked out. It was enough to confirm her suspicions. She cursed herself for not having had a better screening process for guests coming to watch the game, but pushed all thoughts to the back of her head until later. Now, her only focus was on stopping Amon.  
Before she could make any moves, there was a massive explosion. She covered her face with her arm before looking back to assess the damage. She saw Korra burst out of the water, trying to bend herself up to Amon on a spiralling tower.  
Spirits, she’ll run out of water and fall, Lin thought before bending a cable to one of the many ceiling beams and pulling herself into the air. Her predictions were correct, and Korra let out a cry as she ran out of water and felt herself getting pulled back down faster than she would stop. Lin shot her other cable out, wrapping it around Korra’s waist. It took a second for Korra to realize what she was doing, but once she did, she grabbed onto the cable with both hands and gave Lin a nod.  
Lin swung herself around to try and optimize her angle for launch, before slingshotting Korra up to the retreating Equalists. She paid no mind to the hordes of people being led out of the arena, her focus only on Korra and Amon. Korra firebent at two of the chi blockers, knocking them off of their cable and taking their place. She looked up at Amon, sending a flurry of fireballs at him as he stepped off his cable and into his airship. Lin hooked her now free cable onto a higher up beam, slingshotting herself up just as she had Korra.  
Once on the roof, she shot a cable at one of Amon’s henchmen, whipping him back to the glass dome. Korra was knocked off her cable, joining Lin’s fight on the roof of the stadium. It was three against two. One of the chi blockers got behind Lin, trying to take several jabs at her to no avail against her armour, before shoving her with his glove, sending another shock of electricity through her. She fell on her side, dreading what was to come.  
Her body was weakened, but she could feel the vibrations of all four chi blockers charging towards her. She couldn’t get up. She couldn’t protect herself, or Korra. They were going to win. Amon was going to win.  
She felt the anger at herself build up as she helplessly lay there, thinking of all the ways she’d failed. It was only seconds that went by, but it felt like hours as the Equalists approached. Her train of thought was abruptly cut off by two streaks of fire shooting in her direction.  
Korra, she thought, her heart swelling momentarily. But this was not the time to be sappy. She needed to get her body back in order to help the avatar. Korra successfully knocked down two of the chi blockers, but they wouldn’t stay that way from long. The third dodged her attacks, abandoning his place by Lin’s side. The fireballs kept coming, blow after blow being dodged every time.  
The two other chi blockers got up, running to team up against Korra. Lin knew the avatar could hold her own, but three on one was never a good situation. She forced her body to respond again, getting onto her knees and sending her cables at the two men. She wrapped them around their waists and launched them off the roof before swinging herself around to collect her cables and get on her feet again.  
She shot a cable up at one of the remaining hovering platforms being dragged back into Amon’s airship. This was her chance to end his terrorism once and for all. She watched Korra’s fight with the chi blocker, and it seemed she was doing fine. Korra at long last managed to rid herself of her opponent, but landed hard on the roof of the arena. The glass shattered underneath her, sending the young girl screaming as she fell.  
Lin glanced at the airship above her before retracting her cables. She hockey them onto the broken beams just around where the glass was broken, using them to gain speed. She whipped through the opening, heading directly for the cloud of black smoke that had formed after the explosion. the ground was approaching quickly, so she shot a cable to hook onto the only surface close enough for her to reach, one of Amon’s hanging banners. It was not in any way as stable as she’d have liked, but it would have to do.  
She swung her other cable out to grab Korra around the waist again, and used the momentum of their fall to change their direction. She aimed them at one of the now empty stands nearby, knowing that it wouldn’t be the most comfortable landing, but that it was their only reasonable option. The banner started to tear under their combined weight just as they reached the stand. Korra crashed hard onto the floor, Lin rolling more gracefully to a halt just after her.  
“You alright?” Lin asked, helping Korra stand.  
“I’m fine, thanks to you,” she responded, looking gratefully at the Chief.  
“Don’t mention it, kid,” Lin said, dropping her arm and looking up at the hole in the roof. “Looks like we lost this one,” She grumbled, feeling the disappointment in herself set in once again.  
Mako and Bolin both came running up to Korra, expressing their joy at her being alright. Tenzin also joined the group, passing Korra and approaching Lin.  
“I can’t believe Amon did this. I played right into his hand,” She muttered.  
“He played us all. Republic City… is at war,” He responded solemnly.  
The group looked out on the badly damaged arena for a moment, taking in the horrid scene.  
“I need to go make sure my force is alright,” Lin said after a short silence. Tenzin nodded, and she left the other four behind. She could hear Tenzin talking to Korra, surprised to hear him not ridiculing her for doing something so risky, but rather commenting on how brave and strong what she’d just done was. For once, Lin had to agree with him.

It took several hours to assess the damage Amon’s Equalists had done to her police force, but she was relieved by the end to know there had been no officers lost. She knew the same could not be said for Amon’s lot, and there had been many injuries and equipment damages, but it was always a worry of hers that her metalbenders could die on the job. She had had officers put their lives at stake in the name of civilian safety before, and every loss felt like a dagger through her stomach. she was glad to not be feeling that now.  
However, Lin was by no means satisfied with how the night had gone down, and her anxiety was increasing once again. They could now see just how powerful Amon was, how many people he’d convinced to join his cause. But it worried her that the numbers seen that day were only the start. And who knows what kind of technology they might be hiding.  
She drove herself back to her apartment, hoping Kya had already gone to bed. She didn’t want to worry the waterbender, and thought maybe if she was already asleep, she wouldn’t have as many questions in the morning.  
When she quietly made her way back into the apartment, she was relieved to see Kya in bed. She quickly changed out of her uniform and underclothes into her nightwear and let her hair out of it’s bun, slipping into the bed next to her love. Kya stirred and turned away from Lin without waking up, and Lin let out a shaky breath. She wrapped a strong arm around the older woman’s waist and forced her mind to quiet, allowing a deep sleep to claim her for the night.


End file.
